5 Little-Known Factors That Could Affect Your Confidence

FEAR: The Arch Enemy of Confidence

Self-Confidence is generally described as the ability of an individual to have faith and believe in his/her abilities. According to psychiatrists when one has self-confidence it normally results in having great self-esteem.

Self-esteem is defined as the “worth” that you can place on yourself. It is your measurement of your own value as a person, in agreement to your behavior.

In addition, it is referred to as the respect and adoration in which you hold yourself based on your belief of what and who you are as a human being. This greatly affect your feelings about yourself, about your life, about your relationships, and eventually determines your actions or how you accomplish things.

The progress and growth of self-confidence correctly starts with self examination. Your mind should be thoroughly inspected so that detrimental inclinations are checked, weaknesses are eliminated, and a right pattern of thought and behavior are established firmly.

According to studies fear is man’s enemy hindering self confidence. These studies stressed clearly that ”fear thought” is an illness that can be detected and identified. It largely arises from corrupt mental pattern, wherein your mind is allowed consistently to dwell on doubtful thoughts, inefficiency and failure. This power will become great, when freely allowed, affecting your life to a less or greater degree in virtually every undertaking.

Ignorance is the basic and prime cause of fear, that when you are not aware of your “true nature”. A study showed that when one was convinced or has encountered his indestructible infinite “soul-nature”, then one would never feel fear. However, there are those who cannot or do not accept this, thus they feel separate, vulnerable, susceptible and isolated.

Fear of yourself is demonstrated in several ways. You can experience shyness, diffidence, bashfulness, timidity and a need of “self-confidence”.

Here are some factors that contribute to your fear:

When we feel separated, fear increases. A fact is that you do not fear those you are familiar with (people and surroundings). Fear arises when there is a certain feeling of estrangement, which exhibits overall sense or impression of suspicion.
Attachment to individuals as well as material things associated with your security cause you fear that you might lose them, so you will do everything in order to protect your relationships, possessions or your self-image.
Strange surroundings and unfamiliar people bring about fear. Unfamiliar situations threat your security and usually you react with extreme caution and at times, defensive behavior.
Your negative memory of past experiences where you had either suffered or witnessed loss, harm or death aggravates fear. The subconscious retains memories of the past and at certain circumstances, these are ignited.
Imagination at times can create or invent images of trouble, suffering or pain outside physical truth or reality. Note that Imagination is never negative, however when misused and abused, it can bring so much fear in yourself.

Combat fear by developing self-confidence. Here are a few guidelines:

Emphasize your strengths. Focus on what it is that you are capable of achieving and praise yourself for your strength and your struggle than focusing on the results. Beginning on a foundation of things that you are capable rather than what should you be doing will help you live and work within your limitations.
Talk to yourself. Examine yourself and practice how to handle situations as well as counter negative ones. Know when to stop when you catch yourself in a negative assumption. For instance, when you find yourself demanding perfection, tell yourself that everything cannot result perfectly. This will allow you to believe in yourself at the same time that you are striving to get better.
Evaluate yourself. Practice how to independently evaluate yourself. This will let you avoid the persistent sense of confusion that results when you are relying completely on the opinions and judgment of others.
Take those risks. When you face and accept experiences as instruments for learning than possibilities to lose or win, new opportunities can be unlocked and this can develop yourself awareness and acceptance.

Remember, self-confidence can be developed, not inherited; and fear can be overcome because you have the trust and the faith in yourself to do so.

This is part two of 15 (yes, fifteen!) posts about The Ultimate Guide to Improving Your Self-Confidence, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking this link to receive free updates (not to mention a FREE E-Book!).

Part I: The Shocking Truth About Self-Confidence

To our success in all areas of life,
Argel Tiburcio
I’m on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/argeltiburcio

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Argel Tiburcio

Founder and CEO at ArgelTiburcio.com

When he is not busy watching "The Office", lounging at the beach, or playing 1st person shooting games, Argel consistently invests in the stock market, both local and global. He loves learning through books, training, seminars, and workshops. He also helps Pinoys create, manage, grow, and protect their wealth as a globally-certified Professional Financial Advisor. Get in touch with him by sending an email to contact[at]argeltiburcio.com